Recording apparatus



g- 25, 1964 G. c. WRIGHT A 3,145,650

RECORDING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 3, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet l Fig.1.

2 E x3 13 1 k o I I I 8 o- INVENTOR.

6mm GYM/em Aug. 25, 1964 e. c. WRIGHT 3,145,550

RECORDING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 3, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

GER/9R2 G. Mm BY Aug. 25, 1964 G. c. WRIGHT RECORDING APPARATUS 4Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 3, 1962 IN VENTOR 65mm 0. h fi/efir Aug. 25,1964 G- c. WRIGHT RECORDING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. :5,1962 INVENTOR 627ml? (Z Mflf/i United States Patent 3,145,650 RECORDINGAPPARATUS Gerard C. Wright, Grosse Pointe, Mich., assignor t0 BurroughsCorporation, Detroit, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Filed Dec. 3,1962, Ser. No. 241,878 4 Claims. (Cl. 10193) This invention relatesgenerally to recording apparatus and particularly to recording orprinting apparatus utilizing movable elements, or interposers, foreffecting recording or printing strokes. The invention is hereinafterdescribed with respect to a drum-type on-the-fly printer.

In a drum-type on-the-fly printing device, a drum carries type in linesextending along its periphery parallel to its longitudinal axis. Eachlongitudinally extending line carries the same type character, therebeing as many such lines around the periphery of the drum as there aredifferent type characters which may be employed with the printer. As thedrum rotates, successive ones of the above mentioned longitudinal linescome into the position in the device in which they are to print orotherwise used to mark or record upon a record medium, such as amanifold assembly of an original and several copy sheets. The recordmedium is pressed against the type face by means of an actuatormechanism. Since it is often necessary or desirable to vary the numbersof copies printed, or to vary the thickness of paper or carbon, thepaper, preferably, is not struck directly by the actuator as theactuator would have to be adjusted for each thickness to allow theactuator armature to bottom. Therefore, for each printing element aninterposer is preferably placed between the actuator mechanism and thepaper so that the armature can bottom before the interposer strikes,thus keeping efiiciency higher than if adjustments were required toenable the armature to bottom for varying paper thicknesses.

The interposer must be guided in its flight to insure that it willstrike the rotating drum at precisely the correct place on the drumperiphery. Also, the interposer must be returned to its actuator incorrect position for the next print cycle.

It has been customary to mount each interposer in a supporting channelor guide so that upon the impact of the actuating mechanism, theinterposer moves forward to effect a printing stroke. Upon thecompletion of this stroke, the interposer returns to its original ornonactuated position within the guide by a spring means. Due, however,to varying frictional forces, dust, or lint within the guides, theflight of the interposer, either in its forward motion toward the drumor in its spring actuated motion back to the non-printing position, isoften erratic. This erratic motion might allow the character drum toturn to a slightly different and incorrect printing position beforebeing struck by the interposer which in turn may cause the line ofprinted characters to vary considerably from a straight line. Further,the removal of dust and lint from the interiors of the channels is atime consuming and expensive procedure. Also, the channels require veryaccurate machining during their manufacture to insure proper fit betweenthem and the interposers.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide an improvedrecording or printing apparatus having an interposer mechanism whichwill not be erratic in its motion either during the printing stroke orduring its return to the non-printing position.

Another object is to provide recording or printing apparatus whicheliminates guides or channels for mounting the interposers and theaccompanying problem of friction between the internal surfaces of theguides and the interposers.

3,145,650 Patented Aug. 25, 1964 Another object is to provide aninterposer mounting means which is simpler and cheaper to manufacturethan the customary guides or channels.

In carrying out the objects above, the interposers are carried only by aset of spring wire mounts which flex to enable the interposer to movetoward the type drum, effect a printing stroke, and subsequently returnto their original or non-printing positions. Since these mounts are theonly means for carrying the interposers, there is no frictionalengagement between the interposer and any other member during itsmotion, and erratic behavior due to friction or dust may be eliminated.According to the present invention, it has been found that remarkablyimproved results are obtained when the mounts for the interposerscomprise a first plurality of wire mounts affixed to the interposer anda second plurality of wire mounts also affixed to the interposer, theplane formed by the first plurality of mounts intersecting the planeformed by the second plurality of mounts, the line formed by theintersecting plane being parallel to the longitudinal axis of saidelement.

Other features of the invention will appear in the description of theinvention below with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view, partly in section illustrating the relative relationof the printing drum, interposers, actuating mechanism, mounting meansfor the interposers, etc., in a drum-type printing device constructed inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one interposer and its mounting means aswell as the support structure for the mounting means in the system ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of several of the interposers of FIG. 2mounted in a support;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of an interposer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a side elevation of the embodiment of the invention which isshown in FIG. 5.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a high speed printer of the typedescribed above and in which the present invention finds use. Theprinter comprises a drum 1 having lines of type 2 extending along theface of the drum. Shaft 1' driven from a motor (not shown) rotates thedrum at the proper speed. A ribbon 3 supplies ink so that papers 4 maybe printed upon. Carbon paper or ribbon (not shown) may be interposedbetween the rolls of paper 4, or copies can be produced by using one ofthe available copy papers which does not require carbon paper or inkribbon. Means, such as 49 and 50, are provided in order to advance thelayers of paper as successive lines are printed. Of course, other meanssuch as a pin feed mechanism may be used. Two interposers 5 and 6 areshown, one (5) being in the fired or printing position and the other (6)being in the normal or non-printing position. It is understood, thatwithin the scope of this invention the row of adjacent interposers wouldconsist of as many as there are type characters in a line. This is madeclear in FIGS. 2 and 3 which illustrate support structure for aplurality of interposers and their mounting means. One commercial formof printer has a -character printing line, and therefore there would be120 interposers in this unit.

For each interposer there is an actuating mechanism comprising asolenoid and an armature; solenoid 8 and armature 10 being used to fireinterposer 5, while solenoid 7 and armature 9 are used to fireinterposer 6. Means other than a solenoid, such as a cam mechanism, mayobviously be used to actuate the armature of the device. The systemfurther includes a sensing means (not illustrated) that indicates when acharacter is in position to print, which may be a photoelectric or anyother suitable means. This sensing means controls the timing of thepulses which energize the individual solenoids which are to be energizedwhen any particular line of type is in position to print. When aninterposer is fired, the armatures carry the interposers forward aportion of the distance which they will travel to effect printing. Themomentum generated by the movement of the armature carries theinterposer the remainder of the travel distance and enables theinterposer to press the paper against the drum. It may be desirable tobias the wire mounts slightly towards the armature or actuating elementso that the interposer in its rest position actually contacts thearmature. This slight biasing serves to compensate for errors ortolerances in the manufacture of the parts so that the interposer doesnot oscillate upon its return from the printing position. If the partswere not properly manufactured, there might be a space between thearmature face and the interposer and such a mechanical oscillation mightoccur.

Each interposer is carried by four mounting means, the mounting meansconsisting of round wires, made of a suitable material such as steel,which possesses the required mechanical properties such as strength andflexibility. In FIG. 1, wire elements 11, 12, 13, and 14 carryinterposer while wire elements 15, 16, 17, and 18 carry interposer 6.The mounting means for each interposer may comprise four wires eachhaving an end terminating on the interposer. Another mounting structure,which will be disclosed in detail in connection with the figures,comprises only two wires for each interposer, the two wires forming fourwire mounts. The wire mounts are supported at their ends by two supportstructures 19 and 20.

FIG. 1 illustrates the manner in which the wire mounts are rigidlycontained by the support structures 19 and 20. The ends of the wires arebent near their ends and inserted into rectangularly shaped grooves21-24. Plates 25 and 26 are clamped against the grooved surfaces ofsupports 19 and 20 respectivley by bolts, such as 27 and 28, to firmlycontain the wire ends. Because of the bending of the wires where theyare inserted into the grooves, removal of the wires by pulling is madediflicult because this would require the wires to be straightened inorder to be removed. Longitudinally extending plastic strips 29 areinserted into grooves in supports 19 and 20 so that the wire mounts donot rub directly against the supports. Plates 30-33, each containing aplastic strip 34 longitudinally coincident with plastic strips 29, aresecured against supports 19 and 20 to insure that the wire mounts do notmove within their grooves 21-24. Further, the wire mounts cannotdirectly contact plates 3043 because of strips 34. The coincidentplastic strips thus eliminate metal fatigue occurring because of themounts rubbing against another metal portion of the device.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the mounting of an individual interposer can beclearly seen. It is to be particularly noticed in this figure thatmounting means 11 and 13 form a plane and that mounting means 12 and 14form another plane. It is seen that the four mounting means for theinterposer shown in FIG. 2 comprise two wires being bent in the regionof their midpoints and having the interposer afiixed thereto in theregion of these bend portions.

FIG. 3 shows a plurality of interposers mounted in the support members19 and 20 in accordance with the description of FIG. 1. Only two wiremounts are shown aifixed to the interposers 5 and 6 in this view, theother two wire mounts being hidden by the two which are shown. It can beseen that any desired number of interposers may be mounted upon thesupports, the grooves for the additional non-illustrated interposersbeing shown in this view and in FIG. 2. Referring back to discussion ofFIG. 2, the angle of intersection the planes formed by the wire mountscan be seen. In FIG. 3 this angle of intersection is seen to beapproximately although, as will subsequently be made clear, this angleof intersection may be widely varied and still operate within the scopeof the invention.

As is evident from the several views of the invention described above,it is seen that the interposers are in a linear array and that anyparticular interposer or interposers may be fired while one column ofcharacters on the drum is in printing position. At least four wiremounts are required for each interposer to insure that the interposer isheld in a position in which its longitudinal axis is parallel to theline of intersection formed by the planes in which the wire mounts lie.If only two wire mounts were affixed to each interposer, the interposermight pivot about the two aflixed mounts when struck by an armaturerather than move forward toward the type drum. This pivoting motionmight cause the face 37 of the interposer as shown in FIG. 2 to strikethe type face in different positions during different strokes. More thanfour wire mounts may be used to support each interposer but a minimum offour wire mounts per interposer is required.

It is obvious from the various figures of the drawings that the movementof each interposer is slightly arcuate because the mounts are secured totheir respective supports at a point which is displaced along thelongitudinal axis of the supports from the point at which the mounts aresecured to the interposer. However, because of the four mounts afiixedto each interposer, the path traversed is identical each time theindividual interposer is actuated and the slightly curved path is takeninto account in the design of the device.

The movement of the interposer toward the drum, as has already beendiscussed, results from the interposer being carried along part of itspath by the actuating means and partly by the momentum acquired duringthis carried portion of the path. The forward movement toward the drumflexes the wire mounts but these wires do not move within their groovesin supports 19 and 20. Upon striking the paper the interposer isreturned to its normal position partly by its bouncing away from theresilient paper and partly by the return of the wire mounts to theirunfiexed position. The angle formed by the planes in which the wiremounts lie determines in part the degree of rigidity which eachinterposer possesses. As seen most clearly in FIG. 3 where the angle ofintersection of the two planes is approximately 90, the rigidity of theinterposer and the mounting means is a maximum. For example, anytendency of wire portion 17 to sway to or from support 20 would beopposed by wire portion 18. If wire portion 17 were forced towardsupport 20, this movement would require portion 13 to be stretcheddirectly along its longitudinal axis. If wire portion 17 were forcedaway from support 20 toward support 19, such a movement would requireportion 18 to be compressed directly along its longitudinal axis.Obviously, any similar tendency of wire 18 to sway would be directlyopposed by the resistance of wire 17 to withstand tensile andcompressive deformation along its longitudinal axis. Thus, eachinterposer remains rigid against forces which tend to displace it fromits correct operating position. If the angle of intersection of theplanes is varied, the interposer remains rigid against unwanteddisplacement but to a lesser degree than the rigidity obtained from anangle of intersection of 90. As the angle of intersection of the planesis made smaller, the interposer is more susceptible to sway to and froma support means (approximately transverse to the longitudinal axes ofthe supports). As the angle of intersection is made larger, theinterposer is more susceptible to movement parallel to the longitudinalaxes of the supports. While an angle of intersection of 90 providesmaximum rigidity, an angle of intersection of from 45 to enables thedevice to operate quite satisfactorily for most applications.

FIG. 4 shows an interposer having grooves 35 and 36 on its body portionwhich contain the wires forming the mounts. The wires are embedded in aplastic member 34, shown in perspective in FIG. 2, which prevents thewires from directly contacting the interposer and yet enables the wiremounts to be firmly afiixed thereto. The portions of member 34 which liein grooves 35 and 36 prevent the wire mounts from directly contactingthe interposers in the regions of the wires which lie in these grooves.The grooves have lip portions which partially overlie the grooves.

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the invention in which twointerposers are shown, interposer 38 being secured to support 40 bywires mounts 41-44 and interposer 39 being secured to support 40 by wiremounts 45-48. The wire mounts may be secured to the support by swedgingthe ends of the wire mounts into the proper grooves provided in support40. Any suitable means may be used to afiix the wire mounts to theirrespective interposers. The wire mounts 41 and 44 aflixed to interposer38 form a plane, as do wire mounts 42 and 43, also afiixed to interposer38. The two planes intersect at an angle of approximately 90 and, thus,provide the maximum degree of rigidity to the interposer againstunwanted swaying motion. The discussion in connection with the otherembodiment of the relating the rigidity of the interposers to the angleof intersection of the planes in which the wire mounts for eachinterposer lie also applies to the embodiment of FIGS. 5 and 6. Thelongitudinal axis of each interposer is parallel to the line formed bythe intersection of the planes containing the mounts for thatinterposer. It is seen that interposer 38 is in its normal positionwhile interposer 39 is in its printing position against drum 1.Accordingly, the wire mounts 4548 are flexed.

The wire mounts afiixed to each interposer are staggered. For example,wires 47 and 48, which are both aflixed to the printing end ofinterposer 39, are longitudinally displaced along the interposer. Also,wires 45 and 46, attached to the other end of interposer 39 arelongitudinally displaced by the same amount. That is, one wire of thefirst plurality of wires (46 and 47) are disposed between the two wires(45 and 48) and one wire of the second plurality being disposed betweenthe two wires of the first plurality. This longitudinal displacement isnecessary so that when interposer 39 moves forward, wire 47 does notstrike stationary Wire 44 and wire 46 does not strike wire 41. The wiresare displaced longitudinally a distance greater than the distance whichthe interposer is designed to travel. This staggering relation of thewire mounts also prevents the wire mounts of any interposer such asinterposer 38 from contacting the mounts of any other interposer such as39 if 38 were the interposer to be actuated. As shown at FIG. 5, anynumber of interposers may be arranged in a linear array in thisembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 shows an interposer 39 in both its printing position and in itsnormal position, the prime numbers showing the various parts in theprinting position corresponding to FIG. 5. The interposer may beactuated in the same manner as in the other embodiment. It is returnedfrom the printing position to its normal position by both its bouncingoil the resilient paper and the return of the flexed wire mounts in thesame manner as the other embodiment.

It is understood that the foregoing disclosure relates only to preferredembodiments of the invention particularly with respect to a drum-typeprinter, and that many of its features could be utilized in other typesof printing or recording devices, and that numerous modifications oralterations may be made in the invention without departing from itsspirit or scope as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a recording apparatus, a recording element, means for positioninga record member adjacent said recording element, an interposer, meansfor actuating said interposer to effect a recording impression from saidrecording element onto said record member, a first plurality of wiremounts affixed to said interposer and a second plurality of wire mountsaffixed to said interposer means for rigidly securing the ends of saidmounts, the plane formed by said first plurality of mounts intersectingthe plane formed by said second plurality of mounts, the line formed bythe intersecting plane being parallel to the longitudinal axis of saidelement.

2. In the printing apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the saidplanes intersect at an angle with each other of 45-135.

3. In the printing apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the saidplanes intersect at an angle with each other of approximately 4. Theapparatus of claim 1 further including a plurality of interposersarranged in a linear array and a plurality of means for actuating saidinterposers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,207,756 Parker July 16, 1940 2,694,362 Paige Nov. 16, 1954 2,766,686Fomenko et a1. Oct. 16, 1956 2,978,977 Eckert et a1. Apr. 11, 19613,041,964 Simpson et al. July 3, 1962 3,090,297 Wilkins et a1. May 21,1963

1. IN A RECORDING APPARATUS, A RECORDING ELEMENT, MEANS FOR POSITIONINGA RECORD MEMBER ADJACENT SAID RECORDING ELEMENT, AN INTERPOSER, MEANSFOR ACTUATING SAID INTERPOSER TO EFFECT A RECORDING IMPRESSION FROM SAIDRECORDING ELEMENT ONTO SAID RECORD MEMBER, A FIRST PLURALITY OF WIREMOUNTS AFFIXED TO SAID INTERPOSER AND A SECOND PLURALITY OF WIRE MOUNTSAFFIXED TO SAID INTERPOSER MEANS FOR RIGIDLY SECURING THE ENDS OF SAIDMOUNTS, THE PLANE FORMED BY SAID FIRST PLURALITY OF MOUNTS INTERSECTINGTHE PLANE FORMED BY SAID SECOND PLURALITY OF MOUNTS, THE LINE FORMED BYTHE INTERSECTING PLANE BEING PARALLEL TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAIDELEMENT.